Video of the East Anglia Charity run on it's way soon !

 A Royal Send Off

Saturday the weather was nice and sunny top down weather as various F/TFs made their way towards King's Lynn for the 2008 MGF Register charity day run. The crews awoke Sunday morning , after an evening in the bar of the Ramada Hotel , to find grey skies and rain in the air. Being MGFers of course their spirits were not daunted and so they set off for the start of the event on the Queen's estate at Sandringham. Sheltering under the trees as rain continued to threaten there was anticipation that the state Rolls Royce (used from 1961 to 2002) , parked just yards away in the Estate Garage, may rumble out to join them with a lady and her corgis in the rear seat. Surprisingly it seems she may not be an MG fan but we know that Prince Charles was as his MGCGT was also in the same garage. He too though chose not to come out on the run with them. Plenty of F/TFs did however and with two rows formed under the trees it was not long before they were off following the tulip diagrams along the damp roads of Norfolk.

The run took us through the countryside with hedgerows and fields surrounding and at one point it was believed there may have been a hill to climb, although it was a little difficult to spot. It was not long before the cars pulled in to the Norfolk Lavender Farm and into the reserved parking area where the crews could enjoy many Lavender enhanced items from lavender tea to lavender fudge as well as the usual array of perfumed goods much to the joy of many of the lady crew members who rapidly disappeared into the shop.

Suitably refreshed the cars began to leave for the last part of the trip to the coast at Hunstanton including a nifty circular route through tiny grass ridged lanes which if you timed it right meant you could wave and flash your lights madly at the Fs coming the other way.

The finish point at Hunstanton was splendid being right in the middle of town on a large green overlooking the sea. The new Gazebo No.2 was gainfully employed on its first outing in protecting from the wind and rain that occasionally battered it and provided much needed protection from the elements. Collection tins for the Norfolk Hospice rattled in the wind as passers by were relieved of their loose change and more F/TFs formed a horseshoe either side pointing down to the sea. Some crews went for a bracing stroll along the sea front whilst others began to busily polish their cars in anticipation of the show & shine competition and others sought warmth and sustenance in the nearby Golden Lion Hotel !

As the strains of Fleetwood Mac's Albatross wafted across from the duo performing in the nearby bandstand a representative from Tapping House Hospice arrived, duly wrapped up against the weather, to begin the judging. After much consideration a short list of four cars soon emerged and an overall champion was chosen. Well done to Soo, Nigel and Sean for coming highly recommended and to Stewart Griffiths for taking the top trophy ....making leathering every raindrop off as soon as it fell worthwhile. Full marks must also go to Stew and Kathryn for keeping their hood down for the entire run despite the rain - they discovered that MGF Register baseball caps keep the rain off better than MGF Register beanie hats which tend to soak it up but which are better at keeping your head warm - worth bearing in mind !

With £300 raised for the hospice we are hoping that the generosity of Lloyds TSB, where co organiser Claire works, will double that figure to make a grand total of £600 for the Norfolk Hospice. A day well spent in the rain of Norfolk.

East Anglia Charity Day Run organised by

Sean and Claire Rankin, Jonathan Tully

Admin, Words and Pics Tim & Liz Morris

Additional Photos

Jon Tully  (JT)

Keith Williams (KW)